November 19, 2019

**RENOVATION UPDATE AT PARENT COUNCIL MEETING NOVEMBER 20**

WHO: Dan Bradley, Manager of Facilities with the School Board, will attend parent council to provide an update on the Elmdale renovation project.

WHEN: November 20 at 6:00 PM WHERE: Fisher Park Public School, Library, 2nd Floor, 250 Holland Ave

If you are unable to attend this meeting, but have questions or comments, please feel free to email them to renewelmdale2020@gmail.com

Hello Elmdale families,

The Elmdale Renovation Working Group was created to facilitate and improve communication between the School Board and the school community, and to advocate on behalf of Elmdale families during the renovation. We want to hear from you! This is your Working Group and we want to facilitate communication of all voices in our school community. Contact us at renewelmdale2020@gmail.com and tell us what you think about the renovation, or ask questions and we will do our best to get you an answer from the School Board.

Want to get involved? Great! E-mail: renewelmdale2020@gmail.com

October 15, 2019

The board has asked us to share their revised draft construction schedule with you, which contains more detail on the revised construction plans for the Elmdale renovations. As you will see from this document, the tentative completion date of the renovation has been revised to December 2020.

No one is sure yet what the revised timelines will mean for a move in date back to the school, but we are aware that this question will definitely be top of mind for all (including all of us!) so if you have any thoughts or suggestions, we would be happy to hear them!

As your Elmdale renovation working group, we are focused on facilitating communication and the flow of information between Elmdale families and the board. As such, we would encourage you to reach out to us if you have any specific questions at renewelmdale2020@gmail.com and we will endeavour to find answers to your questions. We will continue to post updates here and we will continue to send updates through Principal Isabelle Flannigan to ensure we reach as many people as possible.

We will also be sending out regular newsletters with updates so if you would like to receive these directly from us, feel free to email us and let us know.

Dear Elmdale families,

The Elmdale renovation working group has been meeting to both advocate on behalf of Elmdale families' and facilitate communication between the board and the community. Thank you to those who have put your names forward to help! We are always looking for more volunteers, so if you are interested in being involved please contact renewelmdale2020@gmail.com and someone will be in touch.

If you have thoughts or specific questions you would like the board to answer, please contact us at the above email address and we will do our best to facilitate getting a responses. As we want to reflect the variety of ideas and views from Elmdale families, please do reach out and share your thoughts with us.

The working group is communicating with the administration and the board and plans to organize a discussion with the OCDSB in the next few weeks. This would be an opportunity for Elmdale families to receive an update on the renovations and to ask any outstanding questions.

Meeting Summary:

A meeting was held to discuss latest news from the board regarding the Elmdale renovation before the the Elmdale Parent Council Meeting, on September 18, at 6:00 in the Fisher Park Library. A large crowd (approximately 75 people) from the Elmdale School community was in attendance, and representatives from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board were also present to discuss the renovation project: Olga Grigoriev (Superintendant of Instruction), Karyn Ostafichuk (Manager, Planning Community Use of Schools, Admissions), Dan Bradley (Manager of Facilities). Erica Braunovan (School Board Trustee) also attended, as did Isabelle Flannigan and Monique Sack (Principal & Vice-Principal), members of Elmdale Parent Council, and a journalist from the CBC.

Many members of the parent community expressed frustration, anger, and confusion following the School Board's announcement that Elmdale students could be at Century for the 2020-2021 school year, given assurances that were communicated to the community in December 2018 that the renovation would be completed in a timely manner.

The board representatives wanted to both hear from parents about their concerns, and explain why the project was behind schedule. The board stated that the Ministry of Education issued the required Authorization to Proceed (ATP) late in the week of September 8, 2019. The ATP is a document necessary to release the allocated money and begin the project. Now that the ATP has been obtained, the project may proceed. Board representatives mentioned that there is a possibility that the kids could return in 2020 but did not want to commit to this as of yet. The Manager of Facilities, Dan Bradley, stated that he would have the revised construction plan within a couple of weeks and would share with the community - at that point, his team would begin to look for efficiencies and ways to make up time and hopefully shorten the timelines.

Next steps: Parents reiterated a need for better and more timely communication from the board on the status of the project, and asked for two primary things going forward - a contact point for questions and concerns about the project, and timelines and options for the revised construction plans. Council committed to the formation of a working group that would assist as liaison for the parent community, and would work with the board and school and advocate for families’ voices on the project.

Q&A from the Elmdale-OCDSB meeting on the Planned Renovations (September 2019)

Elementary

Secondary

OCV

Elmdale PS

Renew Elmdale

News

Elmdale PS